Two of Weld’s biggest producers report spills amid flood

An oil storage tank and other equipment have debris piled around their perimeter as the floodwater begins to recede Tuesday afternoon outside Milliken.

Company reports

» Encana had shut off 397 wells as a precaution in the flooding. After inspecting their wells, company spokesman Doug Hock said wells are getting back into production. As of Wednesday at noon, the company still had 245 wells shut off, with inspections continuing.

“We still have not found any spills of any reportable quantity, but cannot rule out future discoveries until we get to everything,” Hock said.

» Anadarko Petroleum Corp. shut down 670 operated wells out of more than 5,800; 250 out of 2,535 tank batteries and 20 miles out of 3,200 miles of pipeline. Four of the company’s production rigs have been shut down due to road access. Officials found a 5,000-gallon-plus spill in Milliken into the South Platte River on Thursday, and put absorbant booms in the river to work to contain it.

“Currently, processing and compression has not been impacted, and the majority of completions crews are working; though, future work will be delayed until road repairs and conditions allow for equipment transport,” according to a statement by Anadarko.

» Noble Energy has shut in 5 percent to 10 percent of its wells, noting it had been doing aerial evaluations of its sites. No visible sheens have been observed. On Sept. 17, a natural gas release from two damaged wellheads was observed and they were shut in on Wednesday. … A third, limited, natural gas release was found, but inaccessible to shut in.

» PDC Energy shut in 130 wells before they became inaccessible due to road closures and flooding. “… The wells that are operational and not impacted by the flood have been returned to production.”

» Bonanza Creek reports that it has inspected 95 percent of its operated wells and assessed from the air, with no incidents.

The company shut in 13 of its horizontal wells, and 26 vertical wells over the weekend as a precaution only. The company is slowly bringing those wells back into production, the company reported.

» Bill Barrett Corporation has reported it has shut in four wells.

The latest

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association has created a website dedicated to the latest updates regarding oil and gas operations affected by the floods. Go to its flood update at Coga.org.

Two of Weld County's largest oil and gas companies on Wednesday reported oil and gas spills into floodwaters, as they and state regulators spent their days in the air and on the ground working to determine damage to operations within flood zones.

Officials from Anadarko reported a 5,250-gallon spill near Milliken at the confluence of the South Platte and St. Vrain rivers; and Noble Energy was able to put a stop to two natural gas releases, while it worked to contain a third.

"Anadarko is responding and has absorbent booms in the water," reported Todd Hartman, spokesman for state Department of Natural Resources, in a news release on Wednesday. "The COGCC responded this afternoon and will, along with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, continue to monitor the cleanup work. We will provide more information about this release when we have it."

Several companies so far have reported to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission that they are shutting down well production and inspecting facilities in the wake of the flood.

We’re required to have emergency response plans, and we train for these situations, and to this moment, those plans are being put to good and effective use.

— Tisha Schuller, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association

Recommended Stories For You

"Every minor incident has been reported to the COGCC, and we're committed that if there's anything that comes up of any significance, we'll report it, we'll respond to it and inform the public," said Tisha Schuller, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, whose own family was evacuated from the Four Mile Canyon area west of Boulder.

COGA has created a website to dispense information as they get it, stating as of Wednesday, production at almost 1,900 wells had been shut off, in many cases, prior to the floods raging.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, Anadarko reported that the vast majority of its facilities remain intact, but two tank batteries were damaged by flood waters, "and have associated light-oil releases." The spills were reported to all associated regulatory agencies, the company reported.

"We are actively working under the oversight of these agencies to contain and clean up the releases to the greatest extent possible," the statement said.

With the exception of the Anadarko spill, identified late Wednesday, Schuller said, reported incidents had been minor.

"Things like empty water tanks floated off site because they were empty. Foundations have been undermined, so tanks are sitting at an angle," Schuller said.

She said there have been some flow lines at oil and gas sites that have broken, but they shut themselves off as they were designed to do in such cases.

"We're required to have emergency response plans, and we train for these situations, and to this moment, those plans are being put to good and effective use," Schuller said.

Gary Wockner of Clean Water Action said in a statement to the Denver Post on Wednesday night that the Milliken spill "exemplifies the danger" associated with drilling and fracking in areas subject to flooding.

"This state of Colorado and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must force Anadarko to clean it up — no matter the cost — and make reparations to the public, including paying fines and enforcing the Clean Water Act which may include civil and criminal penalties. In addition, the state must initiate new rules for drilling and fracking near rivers, streams, and in floodplains that better protect the public and the environment."

Hartman said the primary concern associated with oil and gas locations is crude oil, which is stored in the tanks at sites.

"The COGCC understands public concerns about other chemicals, including those associated with hydraulic fracturing," Hartman said. "Those chemicals are only on site during the drilling and fracturing of the well and do not remain on site once the well is in production. The vast majority of wells impacted were in the producing stage."

Richard Jurin, coordinator of the environmental and sustainable studies program and a professor in the biology department at the University of Northern Colorado, said there remained lingering questions about how the industry is responding to potential spills.

COGA reported about 50 wells were operating when the floods first hit, and though now they may be shut in, there remain several questions. There were no known fracking operations — which last only three to seven days of a well's 30-year life — going on at the time of the flood, COGA reported.

Jurin said what he doesn't want to see is the industry shrugging off the potential impact those wells could have on the environment because they're small in number.

"There's so much information we don't know about. And I'm not sure the information will be forthcoming," Jurin said. "I've seen pictures of containers, dumpster containers being washed downstream. Were they all recovered and put out of harms way when they were released? The part that really concerns me, is what has happened to (well) heads, tankers or containers being stored on sites? There are still a lot of if's."

Many operators were able to shut off wells and other facilities remotely, but still may not be able to get to all of them just yet.

"Operators have been monitoring their operations around the clock, which means visiting sites, aerial surveys, where they can't get in via car, some cases they're going in by boat," Schuller said. "This is a highly monitored operation."

The COGCC is on the ground "aggressively assessing the impacts of the flood to oil and gas facilities," Hartman said. Hartman reports the agency is using GIS mapping to identify operations within flooded areas of the South Platte and its tributaries. Teams of field inspectors, environmental protection specialists and engineers will focus on locations in the South Platte, Hartman wrote.

State officials are warning people floodwaters will likely be contaminated with pollutants, including sewage and chemicals from industrial and farming operations, landfills and oil and gas facilities.

Company reports

» Encana had shut off 397 wells as a precaution in the flooding. After inspecting their wells, company spokesman Doug Hock said wells are getting back into production. As of Wednesday at noon, the company still had 245 wells shut off, with inspections continuing.

“We still have not found any spills of any reportable quantity, but cannot rule out future discoveries until we get to everything,” Hock said.

» Anadarko Petroleum Corp. shut down 670 operated wells out of more than 5,800; 250 out of 2,535 tank batteries and 20 miles out of 3,200 miles of pipeline. Four of the company’s production rigs have been shut down due to road access. Officials found a 5,000-gallon-plus spill in Milliken into the South Platte River on Thursday, and put absorbant booms in the river to work to contain it.

“Currently, processing and compression has not been impacted, and the majority of completions crews are working; though, future work will be delayed until road repairs and conditions allow for equipment transport,” according to a statement by Anadarko.

» Noble Energy has shut in 5 percent to 10 percent of its wells, noting it had been doing aerial evaluations of its sites. No visible sheens have been observed. On Sept. 17, a natural gas release from two damaged wellheads was observed and they were shut in on Wednesday. … A third, limited, natural gas release was found, but inaccessible to shut in.

» PDC Energy shut in 130 wells before they became inaccessible due to road closures and flooding. “… The wells that are operational and not impacted by the flood have been returned to production.”

» Bonanza Creek reports that it has inspected 95 percent of its operated wells and assessed from the air, with no incidents.

The company shut in 13 of its horizontal wells, and 26 vertical wells over the weekend as a precaution only. The company is slowly bringing those wells back into production, the company reported.

» Bill Barrett Corporation has reported it has shut in four wells.

The latest

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association has created a website dedicated to the latest updates regarding oil and gas operations affected by the floods. Go to its flood update at Coga.org.